Pepsi Can Stove

k-spar said:
isopropyl will work but the heat output ain't as good for the weight.

here's a good list of fuels:
http://zenstoves.net/Fuels.htm#Alcohol

actually looking at that site, it says the 70% may not work in some stoves. The 91% (red heet) will work better, and I've seen it in gas stations everywhere i've been.
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Thanks for the link!
I'm going to shop around today to see if i can find any heet/denatured alcohol.
 
tholiver said:
Thanks for the link!
I'm going to shop around today to see if i can find any heet/denatured alcohol.
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If you find heet use the yellow bottle (Methyl alcohol)Red Heet is (isopropyl) And after burning puts an oily black soot on your pots wich is a PITA to get off. denatured alcohol can be fount at wally world in the paint section. heat in the automotive section (gas line anti-freeze)
 
I just made a Halcon stove last night. It's great; double walled construction and it only required one soda can and my pocketknife to build:
15vl92.jpg


Directions: http://thehanddrill.com/halconstove.htm
 
Raskolnikov said:
I just made a Halcon stove last night. It's great; double walled construction and it only required one soda can and my pocketknife to build:
15vl92.jpg


Directions: http://thehanddrill.com/halconstove.htm
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I really like the looks of this one. The construction seems really similar to mine, but I like the location of the burner holes. Does it work well setting a cup DIRECTLY on top? Either way, it looks sweet.

Brian
 
I haven't had the chance to try it out yet. I did make a pot stand (inspired from one of the links posted in this thread, IIRC) out of 12g stainless steel wire and 18g copper wire. It is very adjustable and folds flat. I'll have to give it a run this weekend. I'm trying to go a little lighter when I backpack, and this is a big step in that direction from my MSR Dragonfly (which is relegated mostly to boiling water anyway).
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After watching several YouTube videos last night I had to attempt to build one of these neat little stoves. I opted for the Halcon/open top stove so I didn't have to preheat the outside of the stove prior to use, less messy.

Build wasn't too bad. I used a Bud Light can that was available. Cutting the ring out of the top by going around and around with a knife was a bit harder than expected but was accomplished. After putting the stove together, poor planning caused me to have to drive to the local auto parts store for a bottle of HEET, should have picked one up while I was out today.

Got home and tested out the little stove with one of the wife's smallest pots and about two cups of water. Poured about three tablespoons of HEET in and lit the stove. Not long after lighting it heated up and lit the outside rim burners. Placed the pot on top and realized the wind was blowing more than I realized. found some pieces of a broken cinder block and priveded the stove with a little protection from the wind. Before the fuel gave out I had boiling water.

Great little project which will provide some warm soup or hot tea when out at the range on those cold days.


Thanks guys for all the great information here on this forum.:thumbup:

John
 
IH8U said:
I stopped making the pepsi can stoves a while ago. I make one of my own design out of the 16oz budweiser aluminum bottles, they are much, much stronger. It also requires no pot stand. I'll try and grab some pics this weekend. My best boil time using 16ozs water and Heet for fuel was just over 5 minutes.

There are a gazzillion variations at zenstoves.com.
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IH8U, I'd like to see pics of your aluminum bottle stove.

I found this one online that looks pretty cool. Simple, strong, & no pot stand needed. The priming wick along the bottom is a nice touch.

[youtube]CG-JUElUZzk[/youtube]

Here is another video where he explains how its made and times it from start to boil. (4 minutes!)

I may have to try my hand at these little guys!

-- FLIX
 
I'm a big fan of the penny stove and have also make the 1/2 penny stove for heating cups. The original 1/2 penny design doesn't prime well because the jets are pointed inward and not outward, heating the rim like the original. So, i put 3 more holes pointing straight up in the top of the burner ring and it primes ok now. The trick with all of the pressurized jet designs is to have enough heat get back into the stove to vaporize the alcohol that's inside.
 
I'm a little concerned about the pic on the first page. I wouldn't actually have to drink PBR to make that stove, would I? Think I'd rather be cold. :)
 
Well, here is my contribution to the Pepsi can stove. I have been making these from the thick wall aluminum beer can bottles, makes for a mega heavy duty trail stove. I think all these stoves perform about the same. I can get 16 oz. of water to a rolling boil in 4 or 5 minutes with 2 oz of fuel. Just bought a 15 pack, so I will be making all the empties into stoves:D



 
I had a go at the penny stove earlier today. No pennies, so I used a norwegian 0.50 coin. That part worked nicely. I don't think I got a complete seal between the burner and cup. It works, but doesn't burn as nice as I've seen in the pics. I'll try making a new burner later. Used a Heineken can for the cup and coke can for the burner. Red heet for fuel.
 
IUKE12 - That looks like the stove I want to make. I have a couple of questions. First, do you have the instructions? I'm not sure how far the inverted neck section is supposed to go. Second, the green stove you made seems to be a lot taller than the blue one or many others I have seen. Does this mean it has more fuel capacity? third, where do you find Bud in the aluminum bottles? I checked at my grocery store and although they probably had fifteen different configurations and brews of Bud, they were all in glass bottles or regular aluminum cans. Fourth, did you seal the two pieces together by bending the lip over? Thanks.

-- FLIX
 
apsilon said:
OK, help me out please.

I had a go at this today and only partly succeeded. I made the stove fine, ignites fine, metho (methylated spirits) boils after about 10 seconds and the jets ignite. Problem is when I then place a pot on it, it goes out after a couple of seconds. I've looked at a few videos on youtube and this is no different than what many are doing. Any ideas on what the problem might be?

The only difference I can see is that most people are using alcohol but rubbing alcohol isn't readily available here that's more than 70% whereas the metho I'm using is 98% ethanol which is basically the same thing (right?) so should be fine IMO.
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You might be suffocating it by having the pot directly on the stove, or the stove might not be hot enough to keep the jets going when you put the pot on. Check your design to see if it is one that requires that requires a pot stand to work.
 
This is cool! I want to make some just to see if I can (hahaha) and to keep in the truck, and take camping, and....
 
Alright, I finally finished mine. I built the penny stove and the hobo stove as outlined on this site http://www.csun.edu/~mjurey/pennywood.html .

I still need to get a proper 2qt. pot, which everything will nestle in.

The hobo stove also acts as a stand for the penny alcohol stove. Both work quite well I might add, made some smores with my wife over the hobo stove.

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How bout a shoe shine can for a stove? I have sevral empty cans, or are they gonna be too small?
 
This has always been my favorite alcohol stove:

http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/index.html

It works well, but needs a windscreen. It is very easy to make. You can also carry the larger sized cat tin as a snuffer, and you can place your pot directly on the stove, which is nice. Like so many previous posters, I think denatured alcohol works far better than isopropyl and others. YMMV.
 
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